Japan's navy appoints first woman to command warship squadron - Reuters

MARCH 6, 2018 / 7:38 PM / UPDATED 10 MINUTES AGO

Japan's navy appoints first woman to command warship squadron

Reuters Staff

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s navy on Tuesday appointed the first woman to command a warship squadron, including the flagship Izumo helicopter carrier, as it tries to lure more females to make up for a dearth of male recruits in graying Japan.

Newly-appointed Commander of First Escort Division of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Ryoko Azuma (2nd L), who is the first female commander of a navy destroyer squadron in Japan, salutes to soldiers on JMSDF's helicopter carrier Izumo at a port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Nobuhiro Kubo

Ryoko Azuma, will command four ships with a combined crew of 1,000, of which only 30 are women, that make up the Maritime Self Defense Force’s (MSDF) First Escort Division.

“I don’t think about being a woman. I will concentrate my energy on fulfilling my duties as commander,” Azuma, 44, said at a change of command ceremony attended by 400 sailors aboard the Izumo, which was docked at a shipyard in Yokohama near Tokyo for repairs.

When she joined the MSDF in 1996 women were barred from serving on warships, a rule that the navy abolished ten years ago. Submarines, however, are still crewed only by men.

Japan’s military, like the wider economy is turning to women to make up a shortfall in personnel as the nation’s working age population shrinks amid a drop in birthrates. The number of people aged between 18 and 26 years old is forecast by the government to shrink to seven million people by 2065 from 11 million last year.

Unlike commercial companies, however, Japan’s military is unable to relocate units overseas or hire foreigners to supplement to their Japanese staff.

By 2030, the SDF plans to increase the combined number of women serving in the air sea and ground forces to 9 percent of the total from 6 percent, or 14,000 people now. In addition to Azuma, other senior female officers in the MSDF include four captains and a rear admiral in charge of logistics.

“I want to devote myself to becoming a person that will inspire others,” Azuma said when asked if she wanted to serve as a role model for other women.

Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo; writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

Citigroup, Zurich Insurance consortium to develop cyber security norms: - Reuters

MARCH 6, 2018 / 5:58 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Citigroup, Zurich Insurance consortium to develop cyber security norms: FT

Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - A consortium led by Citigroup Inc (C.N), Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN.S) and Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (DTCC) will develop a set of cyber security standards that fintech companies can sign up to, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The group was formed as a result of a meeting held by the World Economic Forum last year to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors, the FT said. on.ft.com/2FqDLzX

Founding members of the grouping, which include Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE.N) and U.S.-based online lender Kabbage, and participants say they aim to produce a set of standards within the next six to 12 months, according to FT.

Citi, Zurich Insurance and DTCC were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

Citigroup Inc

74.42

C.NNEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

+0.74(+1.00%)

C.N

C.NZURN.SHPE.N

Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission called for “clearer” cyber risk disclosure and asked companies to adopt specific policies restricting executive trading in shares while a hack was being investigated.

20-year-old sues Dick’s, Walmart over new gun policies - NBC News ( source : Associated Press )

MAR 6 2018, 1:45 AM ET

20-year-old sues Dick’s, Walmart over new gun policies

by ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man filed suits Monday claiming Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart discriminated against the 20-year-old when they refused to sell him a rifle.

Dick's and Walmart restricted gun sales to adults 21 and older in the wake of the Florida high school massacre. The 19-year-old accused in the school slaying bought the AR-15 used in the attack legally.

Oregon law allows residents to buy shotguns or rifles starting at age 18.

Trump voices support for gun measures as Walmart changes policy

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Trump voices support for gun measures as Walmart changes policy 3:28

Tyler Watson's lawsuits filed against the retailers in two separate counties claim he faced age discrimination from Dick's and Walmart, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The lawsuit is believed to be the first filed over the new gun policies enacted on Feb. 28.

The lawsuit claims a store owned by Dick's Sporting Goods in Medford, Oregon, refused to sell Watson .22-caliber Ruger rifle on Feb. 24. The suit says Grants Pass Walmart in Oregon refused to sell him a gun on March 3.

It's not clear if Watson knew at that point of the restrictions.

"He was really just trying to buy a rifle," said his attorney Max Whittington.

Watson is asking judges to force Dick's and Walmart "to stop unlawfully discriminating against 18, 19, and 20 year-old customers at all Oregon locations." Additionally, he is asking for unspecified punitive damages.

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said the retailer plans to defend the new policy.

"We stand behind our decision and plan to defend it," he said. "While we haven't seen the complaint, we will respond as appropriate with the court."

A representative from Dick's hasn't responded to a request for comment.

WeChat hits one billion monthly users - are you one of them? BBC News

6/3/2018

WeChat hits one billion monthly users - are you one of them?

By Simon Atkinson

Asia Business Reporter

WeChat is one of China's most popular apps

WeChat has hit one billion monthly users for the first time, the owner of the Chinese messaging app has revealed.

The vast majority of its users are based in China, where it's known as Weixin, and where the recent Lunar New Year boosted it past the milestone.

But it is still lagging behind Facebook-owned WhatsApp which has about 1.5 billion monthly users.

WeChat is the jewel in the crown of Chinese tech giant Tencent. But why is it so popular? Here are five reasons it has done so well.

It's not just about messaging

Sure, it began as a messaging app. And it does at first glance look and feel a bit like WhatsApp and Viber.

But WeChat evolved quickly, and it lets users do much more than just communicate with their friends and family.

It serves as China's biggest social network. But it's also where people turn to book a taxi, order food, make a doctors appointment, do their banking, or find a date.

And when they are playing games like the huge Tencent-owned hit Honour of Kings, WeChat is where players compare scores with their friends.

It has become integral to the daily life of many in China, especially in the cities.

It is quite possible to get through an entire day using the app for (pretty much) your every need, which means it's only going to grow.

It makes paying for things simple

The growth of digital payments in China means many younger people have skipped the credit card concept for paying online.

Instead they use payments services run by local tech giants like Alibaba or Tencent.

WeChat's payments feature lets users upload their banking details and then can buy products or services from any official account.

Even taking a small percentage from each transaction makes WeChat in one of Tencent's best-earners.

WeChat has let millions of businesses get into the smartphones of customers and would-be customers.

Companies and organisations can create official accounts within WeChat - a little like apps. Some do this before they even set up an app of their own.

Users can subscribe to the accounts and get promotions messaged directly to them or click in be taken to a shopping page,.

And the payment system already mentioned means if firms can persuade a user to part with some cash, the process of making that transaction is pretty straight forward.

And WeChat is a big reason QR Codes have been adopted so readily in China - technology that helps firms get information to users as well as facilitate those payments.

Also, while WeChat has been fairly conservative in the amount of advertising it allows on its platform, it is a very targeted way for corporations to reach people.

It is unashamedly China-focussed

While it is making in-roads in South East Asia and South Africa, WeChat really is still all about China.

It understands that market, and taps into what Chinese users are doing both online and offline.

For example, the giving of red envelopes containing money at Lunar New Year - the country's biggest annual holiday - is a huge tradition.

A few years back WeChat introduced digital versions of these "hongbao" and its popularity has soared.

During the festival which just ended, more than 688 million WeChat users sent or received them.

The Great Firewall doesn't apply

Restrictions on access to many Western social media services such as Facebook and Twitter - as well as Google - meant most Chinese people do not have access to these services legally, even if they wanted them

And that created an environment where local players like WeChat could thrive. So too did QQ - another Tencent-owned platform which migrated its users over to WeChat, another boost to its user base.

All Chinese social media platforms are required to censor public posts deemed illegal by the government. WeChat is no different.

But it insists encryption means others can't "snoop" on your messages - and that content such as text, audio and images are not stored on its servers - and are deleted once all intended recipients have read them.

Earlier this year it issued a statement denying "storing chat histories" after criticism from Chinese businessman Li Shufu, who recently said the firm "must be watching all our WeChats every day".

The Tencent-owned firm said suggestions that it was watching users was "pure misunderstanding".

MeToo in South Korea: Governor resigns after rape allegations- BBC News

6/3/2018

ME TOO in South Korea: Governor resigns after rape allegations

Mr Ahn is the latest figure to fall as a result of the ME TOO campaign

A South Korean politician once tipped as a presidential contender has resigned after his secretary publicly accused him of repeatedly raping her.

In a Facebook post governor Ahn Hee-jung "begged forgiveness" for his "foolish behaviour" and said denials issued by his office were untrue.

Kim Ji-eun, who said she was inspired by the ME TOO movement, accused him of raping her four times in eight months.

The ME TOO campaign has slowly began to gain traction in South Korea.

"I apologise to everyone, especially Ms Kim Ji-eun," said Mr Ahn. "Everything is my fault. As of today I will resign...[and] stop all my political activities."

The police are currently investigating the allegations of sexual assault, which Mr Ahn has neither explicitly admitted to nor denied.

Mr Ahn, the governor of South Chungcheong province, was a political heavyweight.

Mr Ahn (R) who can be seen here attempting to kiss President Moon (L) was once considered a political heavyweight

He ran against current President Moon Jae-in to be the Democratic Party of Korea's nominee for the 2017 presidential elections. Though he lost, he was widely seen as a leading candidate to replace Mr Moon in the 2022 elections.

ME TOO

On Monday night, Ms Kim appeared in an interview broadcast by local television network JTBC, where she made her allegations against Mr Ahn public.

She accused the 54-year-old of raping her four times over the course of eight months, from June 2017 to February this year, and said he had sexually harassed her on many occasions.

She also alleged there were other victims.

Mr Ahn's office had initially claimed that he had consensual sex with Ms Kim.

"Our sexual relations were not consensual, and I'm sure he knows it. I was not in a position where I could say no," said Ms Kim in the interview, as reported by the Korea Times.

Mr Ahn, who is married, said in his later statement that his office had "falsely" announced that the relationship was consensual.

Will ME TOO spread in China?

China professor accused in ME TOO campaign is sacked

Why women fear a backlash over ME TOO

Ms Kim said the ME TOO campaign, sparked by the widespread allegations of sexual abuse in Hollywood, had given her the courage to come forward.

"After the movement came into the spotlight, Mr Ahn appeared to be anxious," said Ms Kim in the interview, as reported by the Korea Times. "On 25 February he called me into his office and apologised. But then, he did it again."

The campaign, which has seen thousands using the hashtag to share their experiences of sexual harassment, has spread across the globe.

It was slow to take off in South Korea, but recently gained ground after a number of women came forward.

In January, female prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun claimed she was sexually harassed by a former senior justice ministry official

Female film director Lee Hyun-ju, 36, retired from movies after being found guilty in December of sexually assaulting an actress

Prominent theatre director Lee Yoon-taek apologised for sexually harassing actresses over an 18-year period, but denied allegations of rape

'Betrayed and shocked'

People South Korea have been expressing their disappointment at the news about Mr Ahn.

"I don't know what to do. I [feel] betrayed and shocked," said one user on Facebook. "I thought he was a good politician."

"I believed in you and supported you. You've taken my support, turned it into power and used it to control someone else," another user added.

"I thought you could be the one who could lead our country after Mr Moon. I can't believe it. I'm speechless," said one user.

"Kim Ji-eun, thank you for your courage. We will cheer you on," one commented.